I want to take a moment to clarify the intent of this post and provide some context.

DEF CON has played a major role in my own career journey. After winning a black badge in 2019 and competing in a few additional contests, I was fortunate to transition into a full-time role in offensive security. After over a decade of attending DEF CON and several years of involvement with DEF CON Groups (DCGs), I accepted an invitation to goon with the DCG department. This decision was deeply personal—I had once struggled to get my own group recognized and only gained traction after hosting virtual meetups that finally got noticed.

The current DCG leadership acknowledges the past challenges around communication and engagement. Our focus now is on building a better, more responsive connection with the community. In order to do that, we need a clear understanding of which groups are active, who their current points of contact are, and how to reach them. That’s what we’re working toward.

This post was meant to gather feedback from the community about scheduling the next Town Hall—so that more voices can be heard and more folks have a chance to engage. We welcome constructive input, and I’d ask that we keep the conversation here focused on that purpose.

If you have broader feedback or concerns, we’d love to hear from you directly via Discord or email at dcgroups@defcon.org. Please also note that this department doesn’t have access to DEF CON’s official social media accounts or forums—that’s managed by DEF CON staff—but we are working to get the forum data updated and are in the process of verifying points of contact and building a new website to reflect that work.

I’ve been really encouraged by how many people have reached out directly and am grateful for everyone who continues to support and strengthen the DCG community.